Something BIG Is Coming! Lesson Plan

What We Are Learning

solar eclipse/objects in the sky

sun, moon, total solar eclipse, partial solar eclipse

group discussion, critical thinking, vocabulary, graphing

Someone Is Eating the Sun by Ruth A. Sonneborn has a similar feel to “Chicken Little.” When a solar eclipse begins on the farm, Hen thinks the sun is being eaten! She rushes off to warn the other animals. Will they find out what is really happening? As you read this book with your class, ask students to share their ideas. What do they think is really happening?

Light and Shadow Eclipse

Materials: flashlight, round object such as a paper plate or a Frisbee

Help kids understand what happens during an eclipse using a flashlight as the sun, and a round object such as a frisbee or a paper plate as the moon.
Dim the classroom lights and shine a flashlight on the wall. Ask, “Do you see the ‘sun’s’ light on the wall?”
Then have a volunteer pass the circular object in front of the flashlight to block the sun’s “rays.” What happens to the light? The “moon” creates a shadow that blocks it. That is how a solar eclipse works!
Have children take turns being the “sun” and the “moon.” cooperation/listening skills

Materials: four paper plates, yellow and black paint, large craft sticks, tape, glue or stapler

Work together to make sun and moon “puppets”!
Have children paint the backs of two paper plates yellow, and the backs of two paper plates black. Let them dry.
Attach the yellow plates together with the painted sides facing out, placing a large craft stick in between to make a handle. Do the same with the black plates.
Let kids take turns using the puppets to act out what happens during a solar eclipse, showing how the moon slowly passes in front of the sun. fine-motor skills/science knowledge